When the storm clears
by Nitroviper
Summary: The world is still in disarray after the mist has gone. Vahn is tortured, Gala has gone to war, and Court has a new name. This has been edited a bit and is now legible. If you had already read some of this fanfic and couldn't stand my writing try again
1. Stormy

EDITED

It was a year after Vahn, Noa, and Gala defeated the mist, and a definite sense of peace and prosperity was starting to set in. Old trade routes were renewed, homes repaired, and everything was going perfectly

YEAH RIGHT!

The world of Legaia was a mess. Everyone was still too caught up in celebrating that everything was still in ruins. While Vahn desperately pleaded everyone to work together, but they didn't, and after a while Vahn decided to just let the celebrations die down eventually and went back to his hometown of Rim Elm.

Things only got worse from there. The Rights to the Genesis Trees were disputed throughout Legaia. Rim Elm sought to claim every one for itself, because it was Vahn's hometown. Most of the other cities said that they had the rights to any and everything on their land. Pretty soon Sol declared an all out war against Jerimie for refusing to pay taxes to the ", Rightful owner of the Genesis trees. "

Gala was training a special group of fighters to represent Biron in the war against Sol, and Noa...well nobody really knew where Noa was, but Vahn looked for her determinedly.

Rim Elm Vahn

Vahn looked up at the Genesis tree where one of his closest friends, Meta, was born, and can't help but feel a little sad. Meta was a great adviser and Vahn could really use him now. He used to help Vahn in battle and counsel him in other matters. Vahn placed a hand on the great tree and felt the soft warm glow of it's trunk. It glowed a little brighter when Vahn touched it, maybe remembering him from the time he met Meta."I miss you Meta, " Vahn said softly.

The branches of the tree rustled and Vahn looked up. His eyes met the eyes of a 13 year old with red eyes and black hair. "Oh hi, you're Vahn right? Your famous right? Your sad? That's pretty bad. " Said the little kid very fast. Vahn was still trying to catch up with his words when the kid spoke again, "Yeah you are Vahn. Noa told me to find you. I knew you'd be here. I mean she knew. She told me. " Vahn stared at the teen in shock and opened his mouth to speak but the teen cut Vahn off again. "You're the one alright. I knew it. I mean she knew it cause she told me, but-" Vahn clamped his hand over the teen's mouth."Kid...chill alright, " Vahn said ", I just want to know where Noa is."

Vahn released him and took a step back, waiting for him to speak. "Why the heck is your hair blue? Who are you calling kid? " the teen asked. " Just tell me where Noa is..please, " Vahn answered. "You dont look so strong..., " the teen commented absently ", I could take you." Vahn snickered at the kid's boldness ", You think so?" Vahn said ", Alright come at me! " The teen rushed up at Vahn, grabbed his shirt by the neck, and pushed Vahn forward, sticking out his leg at the same time. Instead of tripping Vahn used the force of the teen's shove to do a full mid-air summersault, breaking the Teen'sgrip. Immediately after that Vahn grabbed one of his arms and pulled hard, punching him in the gut at the same time.

The kid went down fast, clutching his stomach. Lying face-down on the stone ground, breathing hard. He got into a sitting position and leaned back against the circular wall. He looked up at Vahn and frowned. His red eyes darkening a little..."_Don't I remember those eyes from somewhere..., _" Vahn thought

FLASHBACK

Court grinned evily at Vahn and walked over to him. Vahn Lashed out in anger, but his fist collided with a wall of evil energy. "You can't hurt me. " Court said, lowering his face to make it level with Vahn's, "Why even try? " Vahn looked into those red eyes and saw hate, evil and a love for the pain of others. Vahn was disgusted and angry that Court did not care that he was hurting others. A sudden rage enveloped Vahn and he lashed out at Court again. This time focusing all his anger into a punch. His fist passed through the wall of energy and hit. Court was shocked that Vahn had actually broken through. Vahn, seeing that he could hurt Court now, began kicking, jabbing, gripping, tripping, and headbutting.Vahn was a whirlwind of summersaults and kicking now, and he relentlessly attacked Court.

Court was now sitting on the floor, blood flowing from everywhere and looking at Vahn in utter shock. Vahn stopped his onslaught and looked at Court with satisfaction ", Now you know what it's like, " Vahn said.

Now something else showed in Court's eyes...Fear.

END FLASHBACK

Vahn kept staring at the teen with those red eyes, but there was something different in them. He could find no trace of evil or anger. The closest he could find was a desire for power, but that wasn't uncommon. Vahn knelt down and placed his hands on the teen's shoulders. "Who are you?" Vahn asked. The teen seemed unsure and afraid of Vahn's sudden change of behavior. "I'm Kort. " he answered.


	2. Suggestion

EDITED

"Court? " Vahn asked.

FLASHBACK

It was sixteen hours after the mist had gone, and Noa and Gala had decided to stay in the town and rest for a few days before leaving."You know you are welcome to stay as long as you want?" said Vahn's father. Gala nodded and said ", I have to get back to Biron." "Didn't they...you know," Vahn started to say when Gala interrupted ",Yes they did expell me, but I no longer have a Seru attached to me." "Ra-Seru," Noa corrected.

Vahn looked at Noa and nodded, but then he noticed something. She was holding something wrapped in towels. "What is that? " asked Vahn. "Oh, " Noa said ", This? This is my baby brother. " Now Vahn was confused. " You-you don't mean court do you?" Vahn asked.

Noa nodded her head and asked ", Why not? " "B-but..HOW? " Vahn stammered."Well, " began Noa. Vahn leant forward a bit. "I'm not quite sure," she finished lamely. Vahn sank back into the chair he was sitting in and put his head in his hands. "Whatever," he sighed, not really ready to argue.

Nina looked at Vahn."Brother", she said ,"You're tired.Do you think maybe you should go to bed?" after getting no answer after 10 seconds she said "Brother?" Then Vahn began snoring lightly. Noa supressed a giggle.

END FLASHBACK

"You're Court? " Vahn asked again. The teen nodded and said ", No, I'm Kort. " Vahn stood there looking confused "There is no difference," Vahn said. "There is!" said the Kort determindely."_This kid's high on something, "_ Vahn thought _", But I suppose I shouldn't argue. "_ "Fine, Kort. " said Vahn emphasizing the K as much as he could ", Where is Noa?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Just outside of Rim Elm three men camped beside a scrawny tree. They had built a small fire and all of them were angry, impatient, and uneasy. They all looked exactly the same down to the last detail. They could have been triplets, but that really doesn't matter. They all had long black hair going down to their shoulders and black eyes. One of them, whose name was Jason, said ", How long do we have to wait here? " to the leader whose name was Jackson."As long as it takes, and if I hear one more comment out of you I'll rip your eyes out. Now be quiet! " Jason cringed and went back to looking at the fire that was quickly dying out. The third of the three just sat there blindly looking into space.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Kort had explained to Vahn that Noa wasn't actually here NOW he sat down against the circular wall surrounding the Genesis Tree. After a few minutes Vahn asked ", Well then where is she? " "Oh, " Kort said ", She's at Drake Castle a few dozen miles away. She sent me here to ask you to come see her." "Why, is she sick or something? How come she can't travel on her own?" "Well, " said Kort slowly as if unsure of himself ", She's injured." Vahn stood up quickly ", How, how bad is it? Is she ok?" he asked.

"Ummm," started Kort ", She's not doing very well. She broke her arm and lost some blood, but I think she's going to be ok." "Well then let's go!" Said Vahn anxiously."I think we should wait until morning," said Kort. "Oh..yeah that would be a good idea," said Vahn."So I guess you could stay at my house...Unless you have other arrangements?" Vahn added hopefully. Being around the hyper teen didn't exactly appeal to him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Short Chappie I know. Just bear with me.This is the only fanfiction where i'm not hyper motivated. Wich means that i will not suddenly lose my motivation and stop writing.IF you review please point out ANY errors at all in grammar.I use commas very creatively :)


	3. A bad night

"Yes, I think I'll stay at your place", Kort said.Vahn let out an inaudible sigh and started trudging home."Wait", said Kort, "Aren't you going to pay you're respects to the Genesis Tree?" Vahn turned around and looked at Kort, "Look, I'm the who saved it's sorry (a:n/ uhhh trunk:) ) so I'll do as I please and you have nothing more to say about it." Kort shook his head and said "Touchy" , and then bowed towards the genisis tree.Turning around he followed Vahn who was already walking away.

Both of them walked up the stone path together and took a left.It was nighttime and if you looked toward the beach you could see the almost-white sand, the ocean, the moon, and millions of shiny stars each casting their little light on the water.Kort stopped and turned around facing the beach, "You can see the stars very clearly from here...They look forgiving tonight.I suppose God just forgave someone who did something wrong."

Now Vahn didn't know what the heck this other kid was talking about and why he became so deep all the sudden."I bet they're wondering why some stupid kid is staring at them and quoting Koire." Kort kept on looking at the stars though.Vahn sighed and said, "Let's go it's freezing" ,but Kort just kept standing there.Vahn grabbed him and dragged him toward the house.(Stupid deep kid) Vahn thought.

Vahn banged on the door cursing that it was locked.There wasn't even a reason to lock it for over a year."Coming", Vahn's father said from the other side of the door.In a few seconds it swung open to reveal a small two room house with a plain wooden interior.The first room doubled as a kitchen and bedroom for everyone.There was one bed and two cots on the ground.In the kitchen section was a few pots, a fire pit with a grate, some stored food/spices, and utensils.Kort guessed that the smaller room was a bathroom.

Vahn walked in still dragging Kort with him. "Father, I brought a guest", Vahn said."What...Here?" His Father (Val) asked.Vahn rolled his eyes and said "Well yeah that was kinda the point." "There is an inn right next to us you know", Val said."I know but they're down for a week", Vahn answered."Oh", Val said "Why aren't I ever told about these kind of things." Vahn shrugged and Val looked at Kort "Sorry to be rude but we don't get...actually we've never gotten outsider visitors before." "That's ok", said Kort, "Do you have an extra pillow or something I could use though?" Val thought for a moment and then said "Actually we have some extra sheets that are really soft.If we laid them down we could make something like another cot." "Alright then.Do you need any help", asked Kort, politely. "Noooo", Val said, "...Vahn can do it"

Kort burst out laughing. Vahn just smiled weakly still worrying about Noa.Val didn't notice Vahn's attitude and said "That wasn't a joke...I am serious you know." Vahn nodded and opened a cool little compartment under the one bed and pulled out a few sheets.He plopped them on the little floor space there was left and started to mold them into a rectangle."So", said Kort trying to get a conversation going, the silence was a little unsettling.He looked at the bed "Why do you have a bed right by the window.Wouldn't it be like putting yourself on display?" Val shrugged, "Thats just the way it was built.I once saw Mei sneaking a peak at Vahn though."

Vahn turned bright red and stood up from the sheets. "Well there's your bed" Vahn said."I'm goint to go take a bath" Vahn announced, Probably to get away from that embarassing comment.So he stood up and walked into the other room, pulling the curtain closed behind him.Kort sat there uncombfortably with Val staring at him.After a Few minutes Val realized he was making Kort uncomfortable. "I didn't catch your name", Val said. "Oh..It's Kort." Val nodded and walked back toward the chair and desk in the corner.He sat down and started writing.

Kort sat down on the sheet-bed-thing that Vahn made for him and his thoughts turned toward his sister.(I hope she's alright...) he thought.He was interuppted from his thoughts by Vahn walking out from the bathroom in some soft shorts Mei made for him.Kort stared at him. "Father", Vahn started to say ,"Have we got anything to eat" Vahn stopped when he glanced in Korts direction.Kort was still staring at him."Well what are you looking at?" Vahn asked.Kort looked down again and shook his head "Nothing."

(Well that was creepy) Vahn though (Some other guy just stared at me when I didn't have a shirt on..Please let him not be gay.) Val said "I think theres some Chuntil bread in the cupboard." Vahn turned around and opened the cupboard, grabbing the last slice of slightly stale bread.He turned around again and went to sit on the bed still munching the bread."No you don't", said Val ,"You know its my turn for the bed." Vahn cringed (Oh great so i'll be sleeping next to a gay teenager on the floor.God, Now would be a good time to help me out a bit) he thought.

"Umm could I have the bed please." "No", Val answered quickly."I'll do the wood chopping tomorrow", Vahn pleaded. "I was going to make you chop wood anyways." said Val."Why do you want it so much anyways?" Val asked.Now Vahn was in a pinch."Uhh...Just because", Vahn finished lamely.Val shook his head."You've already got to sleep on the bed four time in a row all because Nene is gone and you wanted her space while she's visiting Roze.""Whatever", Vahn said with his head in his hands.(This is going to be a bad night.)

After settling down a bit and brushing his teeth (I'm not sure where he got his toothbrush from, but there you go) Kort Lied down next to Vahn and started to fall asleep when Vahn woke him from his half-sleep and said "Do you have to sleep facing me?" Kort closed his eyes and said "Have you ever considered the fact that you can turn around and face the other way." Kort said sleepily.Vahn turned red.Actually no he hadn't considered that. With his trademark ,"Whatever", Vahn turned around.Kort fell back asleep.

Vahn lay there for what felt like hours and tried to fall asleep.He turned over again facing Kort and Yelped slightly when he realized Korts eyes were staring back at him fully opened.Kort didn't respond at all, and Vahn leaned a little closer to him, and noticed his eyes were glazed over and trembling a bit.(He must sleep with his eyes closed.) Vahn thought.(a/n: I know this is all filler but please just bear with it.I'm really trying to improve my writing skills wich is why im doing this fanfiction.) Vahn really wanted to poke Kort awake now.(How come he gets to sleep but I don't.) Vahn thought.Kort moved slightly and curled up into a ball mumbling something about Noa.(That must be the cutest thing I've ever seen) Vahn thought.

Then a thought struck him (How is Kort this old...when He was a baby just last year.)He didn't know why he didn't think of it before.(Maybe he's not who he says he is. Maybe he's come to kill me or something...but he could've already done it by now...I guess I'll ask him tomorrow.) Vahn suddenly tried to stop thinking as he felt slowly take him. He closed his eyes and let it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

No one is reading this anyways , but I dont care a bit. The chapters are getting longer and writing quotations (spelling?) is coming more naturally.This is the best way to practice your writing skills.Now i want to say a few things Koire is a wise man in a myth about dragons...I'm not sure what myth, but there. Chuntil bread IS actually a real type of bread, And I'm not sure when toothbrushes were invented.


	4. Green Darkness

Chapter Four

Kort woke early and worried and scared.He knew he had to carry out his task for Noa's sake but he still didn't want to do it.He felt tears come to his eyes

he knew he shouldn't cry, but he did softly.It was very early morning anyways no one would see.He sat there for a while with his head buried in his pillow his body shaking with silent sobs.He kept on crying like that for a while until he heard Vahn's voice."Are you ok, Kort?"

Kort tried to stop crying but he couldn't.(Driga!) Kort cursed to himself as he wiped his eyes." I've", he muttered ,"Got something stuck in my eye" He finished, Hoping Vahn would buy that. "Annnnd you're crying about it?" Vahn asked. Kort laughed to himself.Vahn didn't even understand what I was trying to get across."Fine I'm crying", Kort said "Now leave me alone!" "Fine!" Vahn answered, and he buried his head back into his pillow.Kort sat there sniffling a bit and then he got ahold of himself and looked out the window.It was still around 3 am and he knew he should get some more rest before leaving.He curled up into a ball and fell back asleep.

Vahn woke up at around 7 am and yawned.Then he tried to get up, but noticed Kort was sleeping right next to him his arms wrapped around Vahn's chest.(Well at least he's warm) thought Vahn.It was actually around 30 degrees outside.Vahn lay back down and against his better judgement started stroking Kort's hair.(He's like the little brother I never had-Who I just met yesterday and eww) (a/n: this is NOT a slash fic, Not a romance between Vahn and Kort and, Not even rated M) Vahn caught himself, and pushed Kort away roughly.Kort jolted from his sleep and sprug up onto his feet."Whaa", Kort said with his eyes wide open.Vahn stood up, sorry to be leaving the warm blankets.(I need coffee) Vahn thought.

Vahn trudged over to the kitchen and put a pot of water on the fire pit.He fumbled with the matches for a second and pretty soon he had a good fire going.He sat down in front of the fire and put his hands over it."We'd better leave soon", Kort said miserably.Vahn paused for a second and was going to ask Kort why he cried last night but instead asked him a different question."How old are you?" Vahn asked."I'm 13", Kort answered."Yeah", Vahn thought for a second, "But I saw you only last year and then you were a baby." Kort frowned and said, "I had an encounter with a solidified version of the mist, and it had some strange aftereffects."Vahn studied Kort for a second trying to discern if he was telling the truth or not."Whatever", Vahn said as he turned back to his water, wich was now boiling.Vahn was going to bring out a cup but decided just to dump the rest of the coffee mix in the water and drink it all.

Val stirred a bit then hes prang up suddenly fully refreshed."Good morning everyone", He said. Vahn just stared at him."Isn't it a wonderful day", Val continued."No", said Vahn resolutely.Vahn was obviously not a morning person especially after Meta left.Every morning until the mist was gone he heard Meta's voice in his head saying (It's on lazy, get up.) and Vahn missed it alot."Are we going anytime soon?" Kort asked.Vahn nodded."Father" Vahn said "I'll be going to see Noa now..I won't be back for a couple of day" Val nodded and said "You lied.You said you'd do the wood chopping." Vahn smiled and shrugged.

Vahn walked out of the house still groggy and grumpy.Kort walked out much the same as Vahn.Tired looking and very cranky."Well, off to Drake" said Vahn half-heartedly, and they walked out of the huge wall around Rim Elm.They walked in silence for a while.Vahn looked at Kort "You gonna say anything for a while?" he asked.Kort rolled his eyes and said "No." Vahn nodded and closed his eyes while walking.After a few more minutes Kort looked at Vahn again and saw that his eyes were still closed."How can you see where you are going?" Kort asked curiously.Vahn either ignored him or didn't hear him, and they kept walking in silence.

After a few more hours they reached the "Hunters Spring".Vahn's eyes shot open, and he worriedly looked around."Someone's here", he said."So what", Kort said back at hi,"It is a spring and sometimes people come here." Vahn shook his head."Something isn't right", he said, but they kept on walking toward the spring slowly. When they reached the spring someone jumped out from behind a bush and grabbed Vahn.His suspicions were confirmed.Vahn quickly tucked his chin in so the person couldn't block off his air supply.Vahn leant forward and rolled onto the ground.The man was now on the ground in front of Vahn.Vahn studied his face for a second, but a second too long.The person quickly whipped out a knife from somewhere and slashed Vahn's arm.Vahn didn't make a sound.He had been hurt much worse before and this was no pain compared to what he was used to.

Vahn grabbed the hand of the man with the blade in it.He held it down to the ground and bit the mans neck, wich he decided would cause the most damage.Unfourtunately he had forgotten about the man's other hand.While Vahn was about to bite him, the man had switched the knife to his other hand and stabbed Vahn's back, Narrowly missing his spine and puncturing a lung.Vahn knew that if he used any more energy more blood would flow from his wound.Vahn rolled off the man and stood up.The man grinned and wiped some blood from his mouth, with a triumphant grin on his face, but Vahn did something unsuspected. He put his foot on the man's head and said "You move at all and I'll crush you"

The man seriously doubted that this boy could crush his head considering how weak he was.So he stabbed Vahns leg and Two seconds later his skull was crushed, Blood

was coming out of the cracks in the man's skin in a spiderweb pattern.Vahn felt something hard hit his head and He Fell into blackness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Minutes or hours passed, he saw only black.Just black, and the time continued to pass and pass and pass.Finally Vahn saw a little green light in the distance.As he looked at it it came toward him, or he went toward it.He couldn't really tell because of all the darkness.It was a Genesis Tree.Giant, and majestic, power radiating from it in the form of Green light.He touched it lightly afraid it would break and leave him in this pure darkness and evil, but the one light source only glowed brighter as he touched it.He smiled lightly and pressed his cheek up against it.It was so warm, almost a sensuous type of warm.

"I see you found me", A voice said from behind him.Vahn turned around widly and stared at...him.It looked exactly like Vahn except with red hair, and green eyes.Vahn took a step back."Oh I didn't mean to startle you", said the person standing in front of him, "Don't you remember me at all Vahn.." Now, overwhelmed by curiosity, Vahn took a step forward, and another, and another.The other figure just stood smiling at him as he walked closer.When Vahn came within a few feet of the person he felt a familiar, warming presence."Meta?" Vahn said in disbelief.Meta nodded, and Vahn rushed at him and embraced him."Where have you been?" asked Vahn.Meta didn't respond for a moment and simply held Vahn."I cannot tell you that", Meta said finally ,"But what I can tell you is this.This will be the last comfort you will recieve in a long time.You are dreaming now, and I entered your dream.Hard times are ahead for you Vahn." Vahn stared in disbelief. Meta resumed "Before I go" , as Meta said this a look of sadness swept over Vahn's face, but Meta continued "There are a few things you need to know.First: I will be back shortly." Vahn smiled. "Second: No matter how bad things may get remember that they will get better." Vahn was confused."What do you mean-" he started to say, but he was cut off. "And lastly: Don't blame Kort"

The genisis tree started to fade and Meta began walking away."Wait!" Vahn said quikly, and Vahn was surprised that meta actually turned around."I love you", Vahn said softly.Meta smiled as the dream faded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vahn was awoken by a rough kick in the ribs.He coughed and tears were in his eyes as he tried to breath."Not so tough laddie are you?" said a voice from somewhere.Vahn ignored him currently occupied by trying to force air into his lungs.What he recieved for his efforts was another kick in ribs."Suppose they don't make em as good as they used to", said the man as Vahn started his trying-to-breathe process all over again."That's what ye get for killing someone.Filthy widdle murderer!"

Vahn finally was able to say something "Who are you?" he asked."Someone not to be toyed with" was what he got in response.Vahn tried to stand up, but recieved a much harder kick this time.He could hear a cracking sound as one of his ribs broke.Vahn didn't really notice the pain. Just that he couldn't breathe.(Meta where are you?) Vahn though.


	5. Torture and Anger

The man stood over Vahn holding a knife. Vahn closed his eyes. The pain was going to come again, the same pain that he had endured for three days. Vahn's chest and stomach was now scabbed over with dry blood and the rest of his body was in the same state. Everything but his face. _"So I can see you're pain perfectly, " _the man had said. Vahn knew that this man must be insane to enjoy inflicting pain so much on another person. Vahn's thoughts stopped as a white hot pain traveled up his leg. As always Vahn didn't feel anything at first, but after the shock wore off he was left clutching his leg and tears running down his face.

"I brought a new toy, " said the man in a sickly sweet voice. Vahn's eyes opened wide in horror, wondering what new sick punishment would be inflicted upon him. The man (Jackson) opened up a pouch that he was holding in his hands. He poured some white powder from it on his hand. "_Probably some poison or somethign, " _ thought Vahn. If it hadn't been for Vahn's past experiences fighting monsters and getting used to pain he would propbably be insane by now. Jackson stood three or four feet away from Vahn so the chains attached to Vahn's hands and feet couldn't reach him. He threw a handfull of the white powder at Vahn. The moment it touched Vahn's wounds he let out a scream. It was salt. Powdered salt. Who knew that such a simple innocent spice could cause such pain.

Jackson grinned when he heard Vahn's scream. It was the first "_Of many,"_ Jackson thought happily. "I see my new methods are working, good, good. " said Jackson. Vahn was still clutching his leg his body was shaking. "You are sick," Vahn spat ", you know that don't you? " Jackson shrugged and said ", I don't really care what you think. If hurting gains me pleasure than that is my business. " "But why me? " Vahn asked desperately. "Because you once caused me great pain. " Jackson said, almost sadly.

"Maybe I could do something to make up for-, " Vahn started to say. "There is nothing you can do!" Jackson said angrily, and he lunged forward and plunged the knife deep into Vahn's chest. He pulled it out again and watched with satisfaction as blood poured from the wound. Vahn was horrified _",This might actually be deadly," _Vahn thought. Now Jackson frowned. He wasn't supposed to kill Vahn. He needed him alive to feel pain. " This is a problem now, isn't it. " Jackson muttered under his breath. Vahn was still bleeding profusely, and putting his hands over the wound.

Jackson did the only thing he could think of at the moment to keep Vahn alive. He took his white t-shirt off and walked up to Vahn. He tore it in half lengthwise and tied one half of the shirt around Vahn's chest as tight as he could. He then did the same to the other one. Vahn gasped as he pulled the fabric tight against his chest. "Oww! " Vahn couldn't help but say. "Don't worrie laddie ," Jackson said as he crouched down. He was now at eye level with Vahn and he was grinning wickedly. "It only gets worse from here. " Jackson chuckled as he walked away, leaving Vahn weak from loss of blood. Vahn's eyes started to close and darkness embraced him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vahn woke several hours later, or was it several days. Vahn couldn't tell. He had lost all sense of time since he had been brought to this place. Vahn groaned as he rolled over slightly. All of his wounds stinging as they touched the ground, but no matter how Vahn positioned himself many of his woundds still touched the ground. They surrounded his entire body, except his face, and the pain was constant. Like a dull throbbing that was always in the background. Vahn leaned against the cold stone wall and looked at the place where his chains were bound to, a spike that was positioned right above Vahn's head. When he had first come here he might have been able to break it from the wall, but that wasn't an option now. Vahn was already too weak to stand correctly without leaning on something, and he hadn't been fed for at least a day.

" _I have to get out of here_," Vahn thought to himself ", _But how ? _" The question remained in Vahn's head constantly repeating itself. "_How do I get out of somewhere I don't even know is undergound or not, a place that has stone and iron to bind me, and a place constantly guarded by an insane person. "_ The only answer Vahn could come up with was "_ I don't. " _and that wasn't very encouraging at all

Vahn rolled over again and hit something with his side, with a yelp of pain he jumped back a little and looked at what he had hit. It was a bowl of a dark green slimy ooze. In other words it was food. Vahn picked it up and devoured the sickly tasting mass hungrily. After licking the bowl clean Vahn was still extremely hungry. He noticed some blood that was still wet on his arm and licked it up. "_Waste not,"_ he thought.

As he was still licking the blood from his arm a familliar figure walked into the room. It was Meta. Vahn didn't notice until Meta said " How are you coping? " Vahn's head shot up and he stared at Meta. "Meta?" Vahn asked hopefully. Meta nodded and Vahn got up quickly and tried to walk toward him, but he fell on the second step. He was still too weak to walk right now, so instead he crawled towards Meta, but the chains stopped him before he reached his goal. Meta looked down in sympathy. "I'm afraid I can't let you touch me, " Meta said sadly ", The Elders would not allow it. In fact you're lucky I got to come at all. " Vahn looked up at Meta confused. "It doesn't matter anyways, " said Meta "I've come to check up on you. How are you doing?" Vahn looked at himself and noticed the question didn't really need to be answered. "Don't worry Vahn. You'll be away from here soon," said Meta ", but to a better place or a worse place I'm not sure wich one you will go to. "

Vahn heard footsteps approaching. Meta turned his head around and looked behind him "I'm sorry Vahn I have to leave now," Meta said with regret.Meta moved toward Vahn and was about to touch his hair. Vahn closed his eyes expecting warm flesh and comfort. After a few seconds he opened his eyes and Meta was gone.He refused to cry though, he wouldn't cry, he wouldn't be broken. Vahn looked up and saw Jackson standing over him. "_Do your worst, "_ Vahn thought.


	6. Acts Justified

After another week of hell Vahn had been tortured mentally and physically, but he still refused to cry. He had not been broken, and it bugged Jackson. "_The boy should be dead, "_ Jackson thought bitterly. He could just kill the boy outright, but that wasn't fun... No not nearly enough fun. He had at least wanted to see the boy beg for his life.

Vahn was leaning against the stone wall thinking back on when he was in Rim Elm. Though it was not so long ago at all. His Father would be eating right now. It was no magic that Vahn could guess. His father always pigged out when Vahn wasn't around. Vahn smiled slightly, and went back to his task. Wich was to slowly pull the spike that his chains were attached to from the wall. He had gotten another inch in the last few hours and was proud of this achievement considering he was lacking in blood, sleep, and food. He was extremely pale, and his hands shook all the time, but he was still strong. Vahn wrapped the chains around his wrists as he backed up against the wall and suddenly leaned forward, using his body weight to pull the spike out a centimer, no, a millimeter more. It adds up, and the one thing Vahn didn't lack was time.

Jackson didn't visit as often as he used to for one reason or another. Vahn liked to think he had scared him, he didn't know how, but there you go. After exhausting himself trying to pull the spike out Vahn sat back down and closed his eyes. He hoped Meta would visit again soon. He didn't know how or why Meta could take human shape, but he didn't care. As long as Meta was there Vahn felt safe.

Vahn jumped as he felt cold metal pressing against his skin. "Sleeping weren't you," said Jackson, pressing the flat of a knife against Vahn's face. " The only place I haven't cut," Jackson whispered as if Vahn's face was a mystery yet to be explored. Vahn trembled as the cold metal travelled up to his eyes and then down to his neck again. "Just say please and I won't cut your face." Jackson said suddenly, "Beg for mercy and you shall be spared." Vahn saw options here.

He could just give in and say please and be spared the pain, but it would boost Jackson's confidence and he may visist Vahn more often."No" Vahn said simply, and he instantly regretted it. Jackson stabbed the knife all the way through Vahn's cheek. The knife was inside his mouth and he could feel the pain building up. Vahn screamed. He screamed as loud as he could. As he opened his mouth wider he could feel the knife cutting more into the side of his cheek. Jackson pulled the knife roughly out and turned away. He walked slowly out of the room, leaving Vahn writhing in agony.

The blood pooled into Vahn's mouth over and over again, and he knew he had to swallow it. Nothing could go to waste. The coppery fluid seemed to flow down his throat just to come back up again as blood in his wound. It hurt so much and he didn't dare touch it. In a spasm of agony Vahn leant forward suddenly and heard a "Clink!" behind him. He didn't bother to turn around. The pain was overwhelming his senses and he couldn't think straight. Vahn swallowed a mouthfull of blood again and leant back against the wall. "_When am I going to get out of here!" _Vahn thought desperately. A sharp pointy object was jabbing him in the back. He turned around slowly and found the spike that bound him to the wall was no longer attached to it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kort had arrived at the castle three days ago and when he had gotten there he went directly to see his sister.

FLASHBACK

Kort hurried up the numerous stairs as fast as his legs could take him. He had gotten the antidote to his sister's illness from Jackson...and he had traded Vahn for it...No! It didn't matter. He didn't even know Vahn that well. "_But Noa did,"_ he thought to himself. He shoved the thought roughly from his mind as he marched up the stairs. After what seemed like hours (1) Kort finally reached the floor Noa was on, panting. He straightened himself out a bit and smoothed his hair down before he walked into Noa's room. Noa hated it when his hair was messy.

He opened the two great wooden doors and entered the room. Noa was sitting up in bed reading a book. One of the nicer maids here had taught her how to read and now Noa couldn't get enough of books. Kort was smiling lightly as he walked towards Noa. She had obviously not seen him yet and he snuck up really close to her and then hugged her. Noa jumped a bit at first but then she returned the embrace. "What took you so long Kort," she whispered in his ear. She was too weak to speak loudly. " I had a little trouble obtaining the antidote, but here it is." Kort said happily as he held up the little vial. Noa grinned and said, "Now I can get out of this stupid bed." Kort nodded and handed her the vial. Noa examined it for a minute and then uncorked it and downed it in one gulp.

"Eww!" Noa whispered to herself as she finished and puckered her lips at the taste. Kort laughed and climbed onto the bed with Noa. "What are you reading?" Kort asked curiously. "Oh," Noa said , "It's a book about wolves." Kort shook his head, "You have to get over Terra, Noa." he said. Noa pouted then said "I know, I know." Kort grinned and hugged his sister again. "It's good to see you Noa." Noa ran her fingers through his hair and said, "Good to see you too."

END FLASHBACK

After the three days Noa was feeling alot more like her energetic young self, but she was still not in perfect condition yet. Kort spent alot of time in her room with her reading, or just talking. Noa would go out of the castle everyday and explore for an hour or two, and then she would come back inside exhausted and read a book. Betraying Vahn was still nagging Kort in the back of his mind. No it was pretty much driving him crazy. He had never thought that he would stoop so low as to do something like that, but he had and there was no going back. Anyways he had to do it... for Noa. Now Noa could roam around and be her usual self. He knew how much she hated being locked up in that room. "_But suppose she found out_," Kort thought, "_Would she still love me, would she never speak to me again?" _Kort hated the men who had poisoned his sister but he had been forced to do what they had said.

If Noa found out Kort didn't know what he would do. Noa would probably cry for days about Vahn who she constantly raved about..."_Well there's nothing I can do about it now, " _Kort thought_, "So I shouldn't worry about it."_ But worry he did, and Noa noticed.

"Kort I know something is bothering you. " she said later that night. "Tell me what it is...Pllllleeeeaaassseee, " she added hopefully. "Are you in love with someone?" Noa asked again. Kort snorted and shook his head. "It's nothing Noa" he said. When she didn't look too convinced he added, "Really don't you believe me?" Noa smiled as she shook her head. "Well I'm not telling you anyways," Kort said determinedly. "Fine." Noa said as she blew some of her pink hair out of her face. Kort smiled as he looked at Noa. She was so beatiful and innocent. He was lucky to have such a good sister.

After a few moments of silence Kort said, "Well what about my bedtime story. I think you left off just after you, Vahn, and Gala beat Gaza." Noa motioned for him to join her on her bed, and she continued telling the tale she had started to tell him over three months ago. It was long and Noa was a good story teller. She told him of Songi and how stupid he looked and how she had won the title of "Dance Queen." It was an interesting story, but still Kort felt guilt whenever Vahn's named was mentioned, and it was mentioned alot.


	7. Release

Vahn walked out of the room that had held him prisoner for so many days with the stake in his hands. He had the chains wrapped around his wrists so they wouldn't make any noise. He turned to his right and saw a door there. He walked to it slowly. Blood was dripping from his cheek onto the floor, though most of it got into his mouth. Vahn swallowed every bit of the nutritious fluid and he actually liked it. Considering it had been the first thing to enter his stomach for about three days he couldn't help but like it.

Vahn reached the metal door and tried to open it, but it was locked. Against his better judgment Vahn pounded his fists on the door and slowly fell to the ground out of exhaustion and hopelesness. Tears were in his eyes as he lay on the cold stone floor, but the tears never left his eyes. They never slid down his cheek to touch the still bleeding wound. Vahn refused to cry, because crying meant that he had lost hope, and without hope he would go insane..._"Hope for what...?"_ Vahn thought bitterly, and he swallowed another mouthfull of blood.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gala was in East Voz Forest with the men he had been training for nearly six months, and he had very little left to teach them. They were perfect soldiers. They had stamina, agility, strength, and discipline. Gala was sitting down next to a warm fire, thinking that this would be the last night he would see his men. They had all become friends and despite Gala's pleas he was not allowed to lead them in battle. This was probably the last time he would see any of them alive. He knew they were good soldiers, but they were not invincible. They still could be taken down by arrows or spears. They were as perfect as soldiers could get and Gala was proud of them. There were 40 in all.

Gala was interrupted from his thoughts by Gard, his best soldier, " When are we leaving for battle?" Gard asked curiously. "Tomorrow," Gala said with a sigh. Gard nodded and sat down next to him, staring into the fire. "If I die," Gard said , "Will you tell my wife that I love her...I haven't seen her in over six months and..." Gard's voice died out. Gala nodded. He wanted to say that Gard would survive but he really wasn't sure.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vahn had lied there for hours, and had drifted in and out of sleep. During that time his thoughts drifted off towards Noa. Was she still hurt badly, did Kort get back to her alive? Vahn slowly got back up while leaning against the door. He was very weak and wondering if he would pass out or not. When he was in a standing position he let go of the door to see if he could balance. Suddenly the door opened, knocking Vahn to the ground. His head hit hard and he groaned as many wounds reopened. Vahn looked up slowly and saw Jackson staring at him in shock. "So the rat has left the cage," Jackson said nastily and picked Vahn up from the ground by his shirt collar. He slammed Vahn into the wall. Vahn's body was screaming in protest. One of Jackson's finger slid up Vahn's cheek and touched his wound. He suddenly shoved his finger through the wound into Vahn's mouth. Vahn screamed and for the first time sobs shook his body as he tried to remove Jackson's finger from his mouth.

"Hurts doesn't it." said Jackson. Anger enveloped Vahn and he bit down on Jackson's finger that was in his mouth. Jackson was the one screaming now, and he tried to take his finger out, but Vahn had bit down really hard. As Jackson was pulling away Vahn's teeth were ripping into his flesh and scraping bone. Vahn ground his teeth and Jackson's finger was removed from his hand. Blood poured into Vahn's mouth and he greedily swallowed all of it, and he spat out Jackson's finger. Jackson was on the floor clutching his hand. Vahn kicked him once before turning and going out of the still-open door. He turned back and looked inside to see Jackson still clutching his hand. "You can rot here," Vahn spat, and he picked up a silver key on the floor, closed the door, and locked it.

Vahn stepped out into the sunlight and grass. He looked back at the cave he had come out of. It was dug into the side of a mountain. Vahn turned around again and smiled. He was out...He was finally out of hell. He started walking straight away from the cave. He just wanted to get as far as possible from that place. It didn't matter where he was heading as long as it was far from here. After about five minutes of walking Vahn was exhausted and he collapsed under the shade of a tree. Many of his wounds were still bleeding and his cheek was bleeding heavily. He swallowed a mouthfull of blood and curled up into a ball, and he soon fell into a dreamless sleep. The grass around him slowly turned red in contrast to vahn's pale face.

Vahn woke up slowly. He felt cold. "_Wait?" _Vahn though, "_Wind?"_ Vahn sat up quickly and looked around at where he was, and almost cried for joy as he realized he was lying down on grass and not stone. It was Dark and cold, but Vahn was so glad to be out. He felt the soft grass with his hands and rubbed his head against it. "_I'm out."_ Vahn thought. He sat up slowly and leaned against the tree. A wave of hunger washed over Vahn and he realized he hadn't eaten anything in days. He licked some blood off of his arm and tried to get up. He fell down again on to the soft grass. He was too weak to look for food, and without food he would get weaker. Vahn contemplated the neverending circle, not really worried because he was still ecstatic about being away from his prison. He tried to lick as much blood as possible from all over his body before getting too tired to stay awake. He lied down against the tree and let sleep take him.

Vahn was woken up at sunrise the next morning by something soft brushing against his arm. He opened his eyes slowly and saw a squirrel snuggled up against him. Obviously for body heat because it was still very cold. Vahn sat up very slowly, not wanting to scare the animal. The squirrel did nothing. Heat was it's priority and the possible danger of being attacked overruled freezing to death. Vahn looked closer and realized that it was just a baby. It had not yet developed all of its fur. He touched the squirrel and it flinched but stayed by his side. Vahn smiled. This was the first living thing he had seen in two weeks besides Jackson. A wave of hunger came over Vahn again and he clutched his stomach. He looked at the little squirrel by his side and pondered eating it. "_No"_ Vahn caught himself "_I won't harm another being if I can help it."_ Vahn pet the squirrel and moved it slightly closer to him. He slipped into sleep again.

The sun was shining down hard on Vahn and he moved slightly. The tree was no longer providing any shade. He sat up slowly, and noticed that the squirrel from that morning. "_Or yesterday," _Vahn thought groggily, was no longer there. He sat up and looked around a bit. He saw the squirrel sitting next to him clutching a nut that it had found for dear life. The squirrels eyes darted everywhere and it froze when it saw Vahn was sitting up. After a few seconds it crawled a few inches closer and dropped the nut next to Vahn. Then it scrambled away and stopped at about five feet from Vahn. Vahn looked at the huge Kokiri nut and smiled. He was smiling alot now. He took the nut and nibbled at it. Trying not to open his mouth wide enough to reopen his cheek wound. It was a flavorless nut except a little aftertaste of vannilla. The squirrel made sure that Vahn was eating the nut. Then it ran away as if it had done it's job. Vahn sat there enjoying the nut and the soft grass beneath him, but most of all the sun wich he hadn't seen in a while.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Please point out any grammar mistakes whatsoever, spelling, and whatever else you can find that is wrong. Also please comment on the writing style. If you don't like anything about it please tell me. I use the word 'as' alot :) .


	8. Talking

A week passed.

Noa was now 100 better. So much better that she won all the time when she sparred with Kort. Kort was on all fours on the ground panting. "I guess I'm too quick for you," said Noa happily. Kort shook his head and sat up. " How do you do all those flips in the air?" Kort asked curiously. "I suppose I just...do them." Noa said. "Oh come on," Kort said, "Tell me!" Noa shrugged and said, "There is nothing to tell." Kort frowned and stood up. He got back into his fighting stance. "I'm ready," he said. Noa shot at him with incredible speed.

Kort rolled sideways and stuck out his leg. He did this alot and Noa was expecting this, so she jumped over his leg and turned around in mid-air to deliver a light kick to his face. With Noa's experience and strength she could hurt Kort easily, and she made sure she was careful. With Noa's leg still connecting with his face, Kort jumped in the direction Noa's body was moving, so they were flying through the air at the same speed. He kicked high at her face and she quickly blocked it with her arms. He bounced Back slightly and they both landed on the ground. Kort swung his leg down low to trip her. She jumped up. Kort knew she would do this and turned 360 degrees around with his leg still stuck out, but as he was doing this he brought his leg up so it eventually hit Noa's chest and knocked her out of the air.

Sometimes Kort wondered how she could do these thing. Like stay in the air forever, seeming to float there and be able to land safely no matter where she jumped from. Kort's thoughts were cut short as Noa shot a punch at his stomach. He took it and grabbed her shoulders. He tripped her and she dropped to the ground. Kort jumped back before she could do anything to him while she was on the ground. After she didn't move for a few seconds Kort moved slightly closer. "Noa?" he asked. She just lay there and he moved closer. He was now standing right next to her. "Noa?" he asked again. Before Kort knew it he was on the floor gasping for breath. Noa had tricked him. He groaned and turned his face sideways to face her. Noa stuck out her tongue and got up. Kort grumbled something about dirty tactics and got up. Noa brushed herself off and looked at Kort. "You're hair's a mess," she said. "Who's fault do you think that is," He said, frowning.

Noa laughed her usual carefree laugh and said "Yours, come on, Kort, you should have known." "So I guess it's a bad thing I was worried about you." Kort said. "No...but you should have at least prep...uhh...what's that word again?" "Prepared?" Kort suggested. "Oh yeah preepeard.." Noa finished. "Kort laughed but let his sister's mistake go."

The maid that had taught both Kort and Noa to read came into their room. "Someone to see you miss," she directed at Kort. Kort stuck his tongue out. "I don't look like a girl," he said angrily. "OH..." said the maid, "I'm terribly sorry." she turned to Noa "Someone to see you, miss" she said. Noa laughed and said "Let whoever it is in." "Yes, miss" the maid said, "He's waiting outside. I'll go get him." The maid left the room and Noa sat down on the bed. "I wonder who it could be.." she said to herself. She blew some hair off of her face. "You need a haircut," Kort said. Noa looked shocked and betrayed, "I love my hair...Never will it get cut!" Kort laughed and stuck out his tongue again...He seemed to be doing that alot. Noa was rubbing off on him.

A few minutes later the maid came back with Gala behind her. "Announcing Mr." The maid started to say when Noa interrupted "GALA!" she said, ran at him, and hugged him. "I missed you sooo much. What have you been doing? Where did you go? How's old man...biron leader..guy." Gala smiled, wich he didn't do often. "You mean Master Zopou?" he said. "Yeah...," Noa said, "That guy." While Noa and Gala were exchanging hello's Kort was standing in the background observing them. Gala looked very strong. "_So Noa wasn't exagerating when she said he was huge,"_ Kort thought. Noa finally seemed to remember Kort and said "Gala, this is my little brother, Kort." Gala immediately stopped smiling and looked at Kort. Kort flinched when he saw how scary Gala could get. "Court," Gala said slowly. Noa nodded not noticing anything wrong with the way Gala was behaving. "Surely there must be a mistake," Gala said turning back to Noa, "Court died!" Noa shook her head and said "No, I saved him." "He's young..how?" Gala asked. Noa thought for a second and said "Don't know. Isn't he cute! And his name isn't Court. It's Kort."

_"Cute!"_ Kort thought despite the tense situation, _"I'm not cute.."_ Gala started to walk toward Kort. When Gala reached him Kort was almost shaking with fear. Gala looked like he was going to kill him. Gala reached forward to touch Kort. Kort was now extremely afraid. He closed his eyes and a shield formed around him immediately. Gala's hand bounced off the glowing red shield. "What's wrong?" Noa asked and walked toward the two of them. As Kort saw Noa walking towards him his shield dropped and he stood there panting. He was very tired for some reason. Noa stood on her tiptoes and looked into Gala's eyes. She saw anger and something she had never seen before in him. Hate. "Gala...?" she said. He looked down toward her and smiled slightly. She was relieved to see his smile. "Kort has done nothing wrong." Noa said, "He was born again." Gala pondered this for a few seconds and then nodded " Maybe..." was all he said.

"So, Noa" Gala said, "What have you been doing for the past year?" Noa smiled and started to tell him what had happened.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been a week and Vahn was still alive. Slowly but surely he was regaining his strength. He had found that the grass under the tree was slightly nutritious and had eaten that at first until he had strength to stand up. He had been starving, and still was starving, but he had managed to find enough food to live on. There were berry bushes here and there. The berries were still unripe, but that didn't matter to Vahn. Most of his wounds had at least stopped bleeing. Only his cheek wound was still bleeding. It reopened slightly every time he ate something. Spit and blood leaked out of his mouth every now and then.

Vahn was headed in the vague direction of Drake Castle following the sun. He would go there to check up on Noa and hopefully get some medical attention and food, then he would head back to Rim Elm. His father knew he would be gone for a few days, but he was probably extremely worried by now. Three weeks was pushing it.He couldn't wait to see Noa again, and he hoped that Kort was still alive and had not been captured. Because he knew that Kort would break under the torture that Vahn had been subject to. He had traveled for five days out of the week that had passed. The nights were the worst part of any full day. Vahn's clothes had been ruined forever and they barely hung on to him. Every night he tried to find some sort of cover. He had no experience lighting fires without matches. He had always left that to Gala when they were trying to get rid of the mist.

Night was approaching and Vahn knew that he had to try to find cover soon. He looked around and saw nothing but green grass. There were no trees in sight. He didn't know how far he was from Drake castle. He could be a mile from it or he could be 100 miles. His eyes looked over the landscape once and he stopped walking when he saw a brown line going for about 5 miles. _"Is that..The river leading to Drake." _he knew it was too much to hope for, but he couldn't help it. He walked toward it determindly. He was only about 3 miles from it.

After an hour of walking Vahn had reached the dry riverbed and shouted with joy. It WAS the river that used to lead to Drake. Only one more days walk and he would be there!


	9. Captivity

Vahn opened his eyes slowly. He smiled when he saw the river bed and stood up to look at the barely visible Drake Castle. Then he looked down at his torn feet and tattered clothes, and thought of all the nice warm food he would be getting. A voice coming from behind him suddenly said, "Hey, Tim!" Vahn turned around and saw a skinny little man who was looking behind him at someone. "Tim!" the man continued, "I found someone!" Vahn looked at the still shouting man and asked, "Was someone looking for me?" The man turned back to him and grinned with glee. "Yeah, sure." he said. Another man, Vahn presumed he was Tim, appeared next to the man who was shouting. "Good job, Lire. I think you found a good one"

Tim walked down the slight slope of the river bank towards Vahn, who was wondering what was going on. Tim grabbed Vahn's shoulders and said "You're coming with us." Vahn took a step back and asked, "Why?" Tim smiled. His teeth were yellowing and had pieces of food stuck in them. "Because I told you to," he said. Vahn knew he was in no condition to fight, but before he could stop himself he lashed out at tim and hit his jaw. Tim let go of vahn for a second and smiled again before asking, "Was that supposed to hurt?" Vahn turned to run towards Drake Castle, but he was stopped by Tim holding his arm. "Let go!" Vahn said miserably." Tim dragged Vahn backwards, and Vahn tried to reach out to drake castle. He was so close...Tim hit Vahn's head with something, and he saw darkness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Val sighed and rubbed his head...It had been slightly more than three weeks, and he was extremely worried. He knew that Vahn would probably be gone for a week or maybe a week and a half, but three was really pushing it. Val didn't have two good legs to walk on so there was no way he could make it all the way to Drake. Everyone in the village was busy collecting food. There was a lack of food recently and the crops had not been doing well. Everyone was working hard to prevent hunger."_Why aren't you back Vahn?"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vahn was being held prisoner yet again and it made him furious. He would usually pound on the bars of the cage with his fists until he got too tired to continue, or someone in one of the cells next to him would yell for him to shutup. He was being held along with at least a dozen other people. For what, Vahn couldn't guess or even want to think about. At least it wasn't torture...Vahn had had enough of that already. He sat down on the ground pulling at his hair. Why did he have the worst luck in the world? To be captured twice around the same spot. "_Does fate hate me so much?"_ Vahn thought miserably as he kicked the steel bars with his bare foot.

They were all being fed decently enough. Bowls of undistinguishable slop came in every morning and night. Vahn licked every bowl absolutely sparkling clean when he got his food. He had been deprived of food for quiet a while, and anger wasn't going to stop him from eating. True, it wasn't that uncomfortable and knives weren't digging into his skin, but it was still captivity and Vahn resented that. New people were brought in sometimes and thrown into the cells. People were also taken out of their cells quite often and they never came back. "_With my luck,"_ Vahn thought, "_They're probably feeding us to some monstrous Seru."_ Vahn's body was getting stronger every day. The food was really helping him, but he would much rather be eating slabs of beef or ham. "_With mashed potatoes and some lightly salted and buttered corn,"_ Vahn thought, and he began to drool. He was always hungry.

The door to the room they were all kept in opened and everyone's eyes shot up with curiosity.The thin man that had "found" Vahn came into the room and looked at all of the slaves. He closed the door and stood in the middle of the dimly lit room. "We have an important guest," he said in his creaky loud voice, "You had better all behave or you'll get..punished." Lire said nastily, prolonging the last word while examining his knife. Every captive lowered their heads and put on a look of obedience except Vahn. He snorted to himself. What could this guy possibly do to him that he hadn't already experience 100 times worse before. Lire didn't notice Vahn acting like this and simply walked out of the room. A few seconds later he walked in with a tall woman in her mid 40's. "This is our humble selection, Madam," said Lire, "We have..aqquired them from all around the country." The woman's eyes swept across the room. "Do you have any children?" she asked. Lire bowed his head and said, "No, ma'm we don't keep children." "Probably just as well," the woman replied. "Who is the strongest here. I'm looking for a labor slave."

Vahn's head shot up. _"slavery?"_ Vahn thought. Then it dawned on him. That's what they were here for. "_What kind of sick person would buy a life?"_ Vahn thought in disgust as he looked at the woman. The woman turned towards him and realized that he was making eye contact with her. "Does this one have a name?" she asked curiously. "Of course I have a name!" Vahn spat. The woman narrowed her eyes. She approached Vahn and said, "Watch your tongue, boy. I can make you're life a living hell." "_Been there done that" _Vahn thought, but decided it would be best not to say anything. He sat back down on the floor and stared at the woman who was watching him. She grinned and asked Lire, "How much for this one?" Lire smiled and said, "That is my pride slave, I'll give him to you for..." He stopped a second to contemplate the price, " Thirty-thousand Lire's.." The woman snorted and said, "I see you take after you're namesake. I'll be generous and give you 15,000 thosand for him."

Things went on like this for a few moment, and Vahn was basically boiling in anger. "What makes you think I'll cooperate!" he asked angrily. "Look," the woman said, "This can be painfull or enjoyable. You're decision. Miserable ungrateful slave." Vahn groaned and decided it was for the best just to cooperate. "I'll give you 17,000 for him.no more!" the woman said finally. Lire nodded. He hadn't even expected getting that much for Vahn. "I'll get his collar," Lire said before the woman could change her mind. He scurried off to somewhere and left Vahn alone with the harsh woman. "I'm not wearing a collar." Vahn said. It wasn't a threat, or a question, or a request. It was a statement, and one that Vahn took seriously. "You'll be sorry for this when I take you home!" the woman said. Vahn snarled and sat back on the floor.

Lire quickly came back with a metal collar that had a long chain dangling from it. He opened Vahn's cage and walked into it. Lire looked behind him to make sure there were two guards with knives ready behind him before he tried to slip the collar onto Vahn. Vahn growled and grabbed Lires knife and turned him around. Holding his arm across lire's throat vahn pressed the knife to Lire's neck. Lire gasped for air. The guards took a step forward. "Stop!" Vahn said, "you take another step and I'll kill him." Lire tried to plead with the guards to not do anything, but he couldn't say anything because of Vahn's arm. "Slave," one of the guards spat, "He isn't our employer and do you think we care what happens to him." Lire whimpered, but stopped when Vahn poked him lightly with the tip of the knife. "Ok." Vahn said and was about to slash Lire's throat open, but stopped himself. _"What am I doing?" Vahn thought, "Spilling blood for no reason..I will get killed if I kill this man."_ Vahn growled and slid the knife across Lire's cheek leaving a deep long gash. "Something to remember me by." Vahn said before dropping the knife and pushing Lire to the ground. Lire gasped as he held his cheek. "Punish him!" Lire said to the guards..and they obeyed..it had been a while before they had any fun.

"NO!" the woman said, "I don't want my slave damaged!" The guards stopped walking towards Vahn and turned around again. Lire cursed, frustrated, but he couldn't let this money go to waste. "You heard her," Lire said. The guards sighed and walked out of Vahn's cell. "I will need protection until I reach my house. What is your usual fee for two guards?" the woman asked. "150," Lire said, with his hand still on his bleeding face. The woman counted out the 17,000 for Vahn and added the extra 150 lires. She put them in a pouch and threw them at Lire who quickly caught it and counted the money inside. Lire motioned for the guards to leave with her. They nodded and left with Vahn and the woman. Lire rubbed his cheek. Those guards would definitely be punished.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: I'm not happy with this chapter and I wish i knew why...please review and comment on anything at all that you don't like, and also on the grammar.


	10. Degrees of Happiness

When Noa had said something about visiting Vahn Kort really freaked out. There was no one to visit! No matter what Kort said. "He might not be there, it's a long journey, He's probably busy, I think I heard he moved," Noa wanted to go anyways. Kort now felt really guilty, but not wanting noa to find out about vahn was his priority. What would she think of him! Kort sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He was sleeping with Noa tonight. She had apparently had a bad dream and had convinced Kort to sleep with her. Of course two seconds after Kort had climbed into Noa's bed she had fallen asleep. So now Kort was left awake and worried. He was startled by Noa muttering something in her sleep. he leaned closer to her to hear what she was saying. "Vahn... where are you?" Noa mumbled before falling back asleep. "_Why did I do this?"_ Kort thought, "_There must have been another way to get the antidote..."_ Kort didn't get to sleep for a long time.

Then next morning Noa woke up refreshed while Kort had just fallen asleep. Noa yawned and stretched in her shorts and long t-shirt, and looked over at Kort. She started shaking him. "Come on wake up!" she said excitedly, "It's morning!" Kort slowly opened his eyes and closed them again. Noa shook him harder. "IT IS MORNING!" she yelled happily, "We're going to visit Vahn today!" "Oh joy" Kort said before diving under the blankets again. Noa didn't notice his sarcasm and groaned when he didn't come out of the covers. "It's at least 9:00, Kort!" Noa tried again, but she didn't get a response. She rubbed her hands together with and evil glint in her eye..before grabbing Kort's feet and dragging him off the bed. He hit the floor with a "Thud!" and groaned. "Oww...Noa," he said, "I think I lost a tooth." Noa immediately felt guilty and started say "I'm sorry." She hugged Kort, and picked him up off the ground. Kort rubbed his jaw and checked for knocked out teeth. Luckily there were none. Kort sat on the bed and pouted. Noa had her guilty face on, and Kort was going to take advanatge of that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vahn mumbled curses under his breath while he was walking to a house owned by a woman whose name he didn't know. The guards pushed him along to go faster. They were falling behind the woman who could walk surprisingly fast. Vahn struggled to catch up. His body was getting much better, but it still wasn't 100 percent. One of the soldiers shoved him too hard, and he fell on the grass. He lay there for a second to rest and felt the grass with his hands. Vahn got up a few seconds later, not wanting to tempt the soldiers to use more brutal means. He looked up and saw that the woman was at least thirty-five feet in front of them. He walked slightly faster up to her. Once he got to her house he planned to escpae. "_It all seems so easy...there must be some way she intends keeping me there..," _Vahn thought to himself, but he didn't pay the thought any more attention. He planned to do the best he could to get out of this situation, and nothing more than that.

The woman stopped about a half an hour later on the top of a hill. Vahn and the guards were about 40 feet behind her. Vahn quickly caught up to her and panted once he reached the top. She grabbed his head under his his chin and lifted it. Vahn was forced to look up and saw what must be her home. It was massive. It was a one story building stretching in either direction for how long Vahn couldn't tell because they were still a ways away. It was painted a dirty whitish color, and much of the bricks had cracks in them. The building itself stood on the brownish dry grass that Vahn had been walking on for miles, and most of the windows were fogged up with dirt and grime, but the sheer size of it made it look beautifull even though the individual windows and bricks looked ugly. When you put everything together it was a pretty impressive sight. Vahn could tell even from the distance from the building, that it was definitely much bigger than Drake. There were some shacks and what looked like storage warehouses nearby, for what Vahn didn't know. He could see little black specks in the distantce moving. "_Probably other slaves,"_ Vahn thought.

"This is your new.." the woman paused for a second, "..Home," she said finally. Vahn didn't say anything at all, preffering to keep a diplomatic silence going. She grabbed his arm and lead him down the hill, motioning for the guards to follow. They grunted and started walking down the hill. They were still a mile or so from the...structure. Vahn refused to think of it as a house, and Vahn was extremely angry that this woman was even touching him, but he decided that it would be for the best if he cooperated, but he almost didn't. He didn't know if this was a sign of insanity or humanity. Vahn snorted at his own thoughts. "_I'm starting to sound like Kort"_ he thought. As they neared the structure he realized more flaws in it that took away some of his awe. It had looked alot better from afar but a lot bigger from nearby. There were more people now, most of them wearing black and keeping they're eyes down. Vahn supposed these were the black specks he had seen. "_Why would they wear black though?" _Vahn thought, "It must get really hot here during the day." The sun was nearly set so this problem was past them, and they completely ignored Vahn and the woman. They just went about their business wich seemed to be to move huge baskets of...something.

Once they reached the huge double door the woman pulled out a key from somewhere, fit it into the slot, and turned the knob. Vahn stared in awe at what was inside. It was a huge field growing everything possible in it. From corn, to potatoes, to flowers, to wheat.It looked like a a square jungle with polished paths leading straight into and around it. Vahn took a step forward and looked up. There was no ceiling. It was starting to get dark, but from what Vahn could tell the sun would be shining through that open space through most of the day. He turned around again and looked at the door he had just come from. The woman closed it and nodded to a man dressed in black, he nodded back and the woman stepped forward into the field. The man in black stared at Vahn and motioned for him to follow the woman. Vahn was about to protest when he saw that the guard had a knife tucked in his belt. Vahn quickly turned around and followed the woman again.

While they were walking through the field Vahn looked to either side of him and tried to see all he could throught the numerouse crops. The building was absolutely unique. It had a ten foot thick wall surrounding it completely,and it looked much much cleaner from the inside. Vahn had thought it had just been a very long building when he had seen it from outside, but now he realized that it surrounded the field completely. The building was a square. Vahn saw numerous doors dotting the wall, but they were smaller than the one he had come from. After about ten minutes of walking in the field they reached the other side where a man in black sat in a desk. The woman dragged Vahn over to him, wich Vahn was getting more and more annoyed at, and said, " This is my newest. Fill him in." she said before walking towards the wall on the left and opening one of the smaller doors before walking into it.

The man in black stood up and said, "My name is Ryan, but you will call me Master Ryan." Vahn nodded and then Ryan continued, "You will start working at moving the crops recently harvested," he pointed to several basketfulls of corn and different herbs, " and take them to the storage room wich is over there," He pointed to one of the smaller doors that was in the wall. Vahn nodded again, still in awe of the size of this building. Ryan took a deep breath before starting a long string of words, "When the whistle blows at the end of the day you will go to the mess hall." Ryan pointed towards a black door marked 'Mess Hall', "Once you finish eating you will go directly to the dorm," Ryan pointed again to the appropriate door and then continued without taking a breath, "If you need any help don't come to me for it!" he finished. Ryan took a deep breath before returning to his desk again. Then he started scribbling furiously on several sheets of paper with a quill.

Vahn stood in place for a few seconds surveying his situation. He looked around for an escape, but all of the doors were guarded by at least one person. "_ How many employees..or slaves does this person have!"_ Vahn thought to himself. When the man at the desk looked at him expectantly Vahn moved to the baskets of herbs, and saw a man standing there watching over where each of the baskets, corn or herbs, went. He nodded to Vahn when he approached. "First timer." He stated. Vahn nodded and the man spoke again, "My advice to you: don't try to escape," Vahn flinched when he heard this, but the man continued, " It itsn't that bad here, and we are treated fairly." Vahn wanted to say something about that, but he desperately wanted to ask another question. Vahn paused for a moment before finally saying, "Where do all these other doors in the wall lead? Besides the mess hall, dorm, and storage" "Ahh, those doors lead to her rooms. She has dozens of living rooms and sleeping rooms and everything in those walls. Those walls are her house, and we are her job. To make sure we don't misbehave, but enough questions," he said, "You should start work."

Vahn lifted up a basket of herbs and walked towards the storage closet. "_Is this really slavery?"_ he thought. What he didn't know was that Meta had influenced these events.

Vahn heard a loud shrill whistle blow, and he thankfully put down his basket. He had been working for the better part of three hours. At least it was light work. Vahn didn't know if he could do anything more tireing than this. The man who told him earlier not to escape walked over to Vahn and said, " Let's go get some grub." Vahn nodded enthusiastically, and followed him. A few moments later they were sitting in a narrow, but very very long, room with hundreds of other people. Vahn plopped his tray down on the table. On the tray was: a slice of bread, corn, an apple, and a glass of water. He looked up at Domet, who had walked with him to the mess hall, and whose name he had recently learned. On Domet's tray was a fair sized piece of meat, half a loaf of bread, buttered corn with salt, a glass of milk, a peach, and a small amount of what looked like alchohol. Vahn didn't want to be rude but he just had to ask, "How come you get so much food?" Domet looked up at Vahn and swallowed a large chunk of meat before saying, "Partly because I have worked since this morning, and we only get one big meal a day, and partly because I am at least three ranks above you."

"Ranks?" Vahn asked, "Why would slaves need ranks?" Domet swallowed yet another piece of meat before saying, " It was 'that woman's' idea. It might take a while to explain, but I'll give you the basics. Whenever someone catches someone else escaping that person rises up one rank, and whenever someone catches another eating harvested food that person is a step closer to rising a rank. There are lots more ways to rise in ranks, but all in all it is a way to supress our anger and hate by giving us privileges." Vahn saw now what that woman was trying to do. She was putting the majority against the few who wanted to escape. "_I'd better make some friends before trying to get out of here.."_ Vahn thought.


	11. Hierarchy

Vahn was lying down on the floor with the rest of the slaves. He had a small blanket and a pillow, and he tossed and turned trying to get comfortable. The slaves high in rank had slightly fluffier pillows and blankets. Vahn wanted to kick something when he thought of what 'that woman' had done. She had eliminated almost all of his escape options, and he had been thinking for two hours trying to figure out a way to escape. "_I had better figure out more about how this place runs,"_ thought Vahn. He turned on his side, trying to get comfortable again. His body was against the cold polished floor, and the small blanket was covering him from his waist to his neck. After a few seconds he turned onto his back again and raised his hand up in front of his face. He looked at the arm that Meta used to be attached to. While Meta was around Vahn was never cold. The fire Ra-Seru would have always warmed him. At night the warmth would have grown from his arm to his chest to the rest of his body in about three seconds. "_Meta are you here anymore? Was I just imagining out of desperation the last time I saw you?"_ A tear slid down Vahn's cheek and he lowered his arm onto the cold floor.

It took a few hours before Vahn could feel the first signs of sleep. When he was in the world of half sleep, the world you would enter just before you begin to dream, he heard Meta say, " I'm here." but Vahn was passed reason and on to dreaming. When he would wake up in the morning he would just dismiss it as a dream... and possibly that is all it was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That morning Gala had been called away to Biron again. Apparently he had been asked to train more troops for the war. He could not refuse, since he had sworn his life to Biron. Noa had asked him if he could possibly spend one more day to visit Vahn with her, but he couldn't wait one more day. He left at noon across the river towards Biron. Noa was going to delay visiting Vahn one more day, because Kort had not wanted to go. Noa had no idea why and she was a little hurt by Kort's reaction, but she told Kort that she was going to go anyways and that he could stay if he wanted. When Kort knew this he sighed and said that maybe it was just him getting nervous to see the great hero, and that he would go. Noa laughed and hugged Kort again before darting away to pack some clothes and food.

They left half an hour later, and Noa was as happy as she could possibly get. She looked at Kort and asked, " How long do you think it will take to get there?" Kort shrugged and said, "If we walk fast we could probably get there before nightfall." "Good," said Noa, "Then I could fight with Vahn before supper." For some reason Noa wanted to prove that she had improved her fighting abilities to Vahn. Kort walked in silence for the next hour, wondering how devastated Noa would be when she found that Vahn was missing. Kort had denied the fact that he had ever been at Vahn's house in the first place, so he was in trouble anyways. Val would definitely recognize him and link him to Vahn's dissapearance. Kort already felt guilty so he knew that once Noa questioned him about it he would tell her what happened. She might forgive him and she might not. It was way too late to change what he had done, it was too late after he had led Vahn to Hunters Spring. Kort sighed and kicked a rock. Noa looked at him curiously, but she had been questioning him for his attitude for days and hadn't gotten an answer, so why should he tell her now? Noa shrugged and continued walking, hoisting her backpack up onto her shoulders again because it had slipped down. "_I wonder if Vahn has changed at all?"_ she thought to herself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vahn woke up to another shrill whistle that echoed in his head for minutes after it ended. He felt like he had frozen during the night. Vahn pushed himself up with his hands and accidentally tore what was left of his shirt. The fabric fell to the ground and Vahn groaned. "_I hope they give me something decent to wear,"_ Vahn thought. Vahn looked around and realized that he was the first to get up. Everyone else had their eyes half closed and were almost asleep again. "_Maybe I'm not supposed to get up yet?"_ Vahn thought. He sank back to the ground and curled up in his blanket. A couple of seconds later Vahn heard a rustling and looked up again. Everyone was starting to get up now, lazily. He saw a man shake someone else, "We have to get up," he said. The other guy just groaned and said, "Five more minutes." Vahn scratched his head. So this was slavery. A bunch of lazy men getting up for work?

Demot got up and quickly made his...bed. He folded the blanket and put the pillow on top of it, before standing in front of them with his head bent down slightly. Vahn could tell he was still tired. **"**_Working here all day probably is tiring...I hope I can do all of it."_ Vahn followed Demot's example and made his space look neat before standing in front of it. After a few minutes everyone was in front of his or her space. Some were talking to each other, while others were looking downwards and twiddling their thumbs. Vahn did neither and put his hands behind his back. There was maybe a minute or two before a man dressed in a one piece green outfit came in. He had a dagger in his belt, and unlike the men here, he was wide awake and alert. He walked through the rows of men standing in front of their raggedy blankets and took note of each person that was awake. He checked every man like this and it went on for a few minutes. When he was done, appearing satisfied, he stood in the middle of the room and said, "Everyone will resume their morning duties, and for those of you who do not already know: today is a day of rest. You shall all work for four hours, until noon, and then you are free to do as you like." the man walked out of the room, and everyone started talking to each other again while filing out the door.

Vahn was puzzled about the day off, he was puzzled about the entire system here. These people were all slaves, so why not treat them like it? Demot spotted Vahn wondering what to do and walked toward him. Once Demot reached Vahn he instructed him, "You're harvesting corn today." Vahn smiled in relief. That sounded like easy work. "But it's alot harder than it looks," Demot continued to say, and Vahn frowned. "Getting the individual ears of corn off is a little hard, but there's a little trick to it." Demot walked over to a stalk of corn and grabbed one of the ears of corn. "You have to pull it like this," Demot said, then he demonstrated a little twisting pulling motion using both hands. He held the corn in his hands for a second and then reached out and put it in a basket that was right next to him. "Once this basket is full. Take it to the corn storage room." Demot pointed to a door with a yellow mark on it. Vahn nodded and tried to pull an ear of corn off. Demot looked at him, amused, and walked away to consult with the man at the desk.

After a few tries Vahn started to get the hang of it. The basket was halfway full half an hour later, and Vahn was actually enjoying the work. It was constant and it felt good to be doing something. He let his thoughts wander over the events of the past few weeks and touched his hand to his cheek. It had stopped bleeding except for a little bit at dinner the night before. No one had asked any questions about it. Probably because people had come in with alot worse. Vahn wondered vaguely if people had started to look for him or not. He fully expected them to do so, but he seriously doubted that they would find him. He didn't even know where he was.

Ten minutes later Vahn got tired and needed to rest. He got off his knees, wich were starting to get sore, and sat down on the ground, spreading his legs out. He looked around to make sure no one was angry about this. No one was. Vahn was wondering agiain why everyone was so loose around here. He looked up and blinked at the sun that was shining through the non-existent roof. "_ I wonder how much longer I'll have to stay here?" _Vahn thought. When he saw someone was looking at him Vahn resumed his work.

Soon the basket was full and Vahn had to take it to the storage room. Vahn picked up the basket and winced when he felt how heavy it was, but he started carrying it anyways and walked towards the storage closet. After a few steps Vahn stepped into something wet, surprised, he almost dropped the basket, but he somehow managed to hold onto it. He looked down and saw a little stream of miraculously blue water flowing into the field that he was about to walk out of. He saw that the water was coming from a pipe right where the dirt came to the walkway of polished stone. Vahn put down the basket and knelt down by the little stream. He was very thirsty and hadn't had anything to eat or drink since yesterday. "_Well Domet told me to stay away from the crops and I can understand that, but I don't think a little water would hurt anyone."_ He scooped some water up in his hands and was about to put it to his lips until he heard someone say, "Stop! Don't drink that!" Vahn let the water run through his finger back into the dirt and sighed. Was he in trouble on his first real day?

A woman in her mid-twenties walked over to Vahn and said, "Sorry if I scared you." Vahn flinched as she drew nearer. She realized this and scratched her head while saying, "Don't worry I'm not going to report you or anything." Vahn eased up a little and asked, "Why can't I drink it then?" She frowned and said, "If you drink this you'll get sick. It has a special kind of fertilizer in it that helps plants grow, but it can be deadly to humans." Vahn wiped the remaining water off his hands onto his pants, wich were still covered in blood. "_I bet everyone just thinks that they were made red." _Vahn thought. The woman stuck out her hand and said, "I'm Trisha." Vahn shook it while still looking at the extremely blue water. Trisha waited for a second and then rolled her eyes before asking, "And who are you, oh shirtless guy?" Vahn blushed and looked up at her again. "My name's Vahn," he said. "How come you don't have a shirt on?" Trisha asked while looking at him. Vahn coughed slightly and brought her attention back up to his face. "Well it's a long story." Vahn looked at what she was wearing. "Where can I get an outfit like that?" Vahn asked. "They usually give them to us a few days after we come here," Trisha answered, "But believe me they're not comfortable," she finished. Vahn shrugged and said, "I'd rather be uncomfortable than freeze to death tonight."

"I'm sorry but there really isn't anything I can do. I'm only a Novice." Trisha said, lowering her head

Vahn decided to take advantage of her knowledge and asked, "How many ranks are there?" "Umm, eight I think. New, Novice, Rookie, Learned, Learned 2, Overseer, Master, and Lord." "Those are kinda dramatic titles," Vahn commented to himself. Trisha shrugged and said, "I have to get back to work." She walked away over to what looked like grapes. Vahn picked up the basket again and carried it over to the storage room. "_I'll think more about escaping tomorrow." _Vahn thought. He put the basket in the back of the storage room and walked back to the corn field. "_This isn't so bad though." _Vahn thought

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N:

For anyone and Everyone who is reading this. There had been a major change of mood. I'm better at writing sad stuff, but I'll deal. If there anything wrong with the writing style, grammar, or anything else please tell me. I would also like to know if you would like me to update more often. This isn't a plea for reviews or anything. I just want to know how often someone should update their fanfiction. I have managed to update an average of three times a week.


	12. Label

Gala crouched down as an arrow flew past his head. "Retreat!" he yelled to everyone within range, "Fall back!" Gala and his squad had been ambushed on a training mission, by troops of Jeremi. Gala turned his head to look back at the majority of his squad, wich was retreating into the cover of the forest. One of his newest trainees, Jerod, was struck in the back with an arrow and quickly fell to the ground. Gala drew his short bow, wich was on his back, and notched an arrow. He set it loose into the horde of troops advancing on them and turned around beforing diving into the forest.

Gala ran through the trees, looking everywhere to make sure that the majority of his troops were alive. He counted twenty-one. "_Nine dead or captured," _Gala thought to himself. He didn't think of it beyond that though. There was no time for grieving. The trees flew past as he ran faster, looking back every now and then. The troops of Jeremi were wise enough not to follow. They knew that fighting in woods was Biron's specialty.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Noa slammed her fists down on the table, giving in to her anger. "Well then where did he go!" she asked Val harshly. Val flinched, he could almost feel waves of anger coming off of her. "You should ask your friend there." Val said after a few minutes. Val propped his head up with his hands while staring a hole through Kort. Kort shifted nervously in place for a few seconds and thought, "_Well this it. Noa will either hate me or forgive me..."_ Noa withdrawed her fists from the table, confusion overcoming her anger. "What do you mean?" she asked Val. "This guy," Val nodded towards Kort, "Was here a couple of weeks ago. He said he was going to accompany Vahn to see you. He said that you had been injured." Noa turned to Kort, confusion radiating from her face. "What does he mean Kort? What happened?"

Kort's breath was coming in gasps now. He was extremely nervous and frightened of the glares Val and now Noa were giving him. He touched his lower lip with his right index finger, It was a defensive mechanism of his that he had grown acustomed to. Noa took a step toward him, her face showing a gentle frown that indicated sadness and confusion. Val rose from his seat and said, "Where is Vahn, Kort?" It was barely a whisper but contained all of the rage of a worried father and more. When Kort didn't answer Val took a step toward him. Kort still didn't answer. He didn't know what to do, or he did but couldn't act on it. Val took a final step towards Kort and reached out to grab his shoulders. Korts eyes went wide and he flinched. A red barrier of energy formed around him, and when Val touched it his hands simply bounced off.

Kort tried to banish all of the fear and sadness from his mind, and, having nowhere else to go, the shield used it as energy. Val and Noa stood staring at him. When all of Kort's energy was expended he half-collapsed against the wall, tears leaking from his eyes. "I-I don't know what-maybe," Kort stuttered, his voice shaking. He looked at Noa and continued, "You were sick and I couldn't think of any other way." Val reached forward in anger and grabbed Kort's shoulders with an iron grip. "You'd better explain better than that boy!" Val growled. Kort tried to move backwards, but Val was too strong, not having enough energy to form a barrier, Kort gave up. He lowered his head and whispered, " I... Traded him. For medicine."

Noa took a minute to take this in, and then it dawned on her."_Kort traded Vahn...for medicine, for me_?" she thought. Val let go of Kort's shoulders and asked, "For medicine?" Kort nodded and said, "I had to save Noa...she was sick." "How could you do that, Kort!" Noa burst out. Kort lowered his head even more and let a tear fall to the ground. "Noa you mean so much to me...I couldn't let you die.." Kort's voice trailed off and then he was silent. Val's eyes were wide as he said, "You traded my son for medicine... There must have been another way!" Kort didn't answer.

Val had a million questions to ask but the most important was, "Who did you "trade" him to." Val said the word "trade" with as much contempt and anger as his voice would allow. Kort was about to open his mouth to answer, but he closed it when he realized that he really didn't know who the people were. "Just...," Kort began, "The people who had poisoned Noa." This came as a shock to Noa. She didn't know she had been poisoned. "_I suppose the people at the castle dismissed it as a passing disease not to worry me."_ she thought, before bringing her mind back to Vahn. She had a brief glimpse of Vahn chained to a wall, blood gushing from his body. She sat down on the backs of her legs and put her head in her hands. After a few seconds she looked up at Kort again, who had his head down, waiting for her to say something. "Kort," Noa said. Kort's head shot up and he stared at her. Noa took a breath before saying, "You are going to help me find him." Kort nodded.

A few minutes of intense silence passed, and Kort was dying for Noa to say something, anything else. A word of forgiveness or hate. Noa didn't say either one and turned around and, opening the door, left. Kort quickly followed her, leaving Val behind to ponder what had happened. Val sat down on the floor and ran his fingers through his hair.

(A/N to beta: Were these sequence of events in the last paragraph to fast, or were the sequence of events before the last paragraph too drawn out?)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Trisha's face paled as she listened to what Vahn's plan was. "There's no way it would work. It is too obvious a flaw in the security and 'that woman' must have some kind of counter. Besides no one has escaped here before." Vahn's face hardened and he said, "No one before now." "They treat us well here. There is no need!" Trisha stuttered. Vahn slammed his fists down on the table. "You cannot put a label on slavery to make it look nicer!" He growled before sinking into his seat a bit more. Trisha frowned and said, "Many new people say that. Just give it some time, that's all I'm asking." "If I haven't changed my mind in a week will you help me?" Vahn asked anxiously. Trisha considered this for a few seconds and then nodded slowly. "_Well I know I'm not changing my mind any time soon,"_ Vahn thought to himself.

Vahn finished his supper slowly trying to savor the taste of the plain meal he got as much as possible. He was broken from his ritual by the cursed bell he hated so much. "_Can't they make it sound...Lighter?"_ Vahn grumbled as he got up. He knew he was not alone as many people covered their ears or cursed. Trisha got up and walked away with her tray. Vahn soon followed, trying to devour the rest of his meal on the way to where the trays were supposed to go. "_Gotta eat faster next time I guess,"_ He thought. He was able to finish it all before he plopped his tray down on the table and headed to the 'dorm'.

Vahn was surprised when he arrived at the spot where his blanket was and a plain black uniform that everyone seemed to wear around here. He picked the top part up and examined it. "_It looks like it's too big for me," _Vahn thought, but he put it on anyways. Since this was the mens' 'dorm' Vahn didn't mind tugging off his blue pants and replacing them with the black ones. He lay down on the floor and wrapped his little blanket around himself. "_I wonder what Noa is doing now?"_ he thought before drifting off into sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Weak chapter for a week of waiting. I know, I know, I'm turning into the other writers that say, "Well I was too busy to write." Well, I can't promise, but I will do everything to make sure this doesn't happen again. Since no one is reading it doesn't matter anyways. How do you like the change of mood. Is it too sudden? Should I have not changed it all? Were there any OOC problems? Please let me know.

ps: I will strive to make my chapters longer!


	13. Springs

The sun was just about to rise as a squirrel, the same squirrel that had helped Vahn, was chewing on a nut. Suddenly there was a bright flash right next to the tree, and Meta, in human form, stepped out of nowhere and stumbled onto the grass. The squirrel dropped its nut and scurried up into the tree out of sight. It hid behind the leaves and stared curiously at the being that was lying in the grass before it. Meta looked almost exactly like Vahn, except for the red hair and green eyes. He groaned softly and his hands formed into fist, clutching at the grass. "How undignified," Meta said to himself while getting up onto his hands and knees.

Meta stood up quickly and brushed the grass off of his green shirt. He looked around curiously for a few seconds, examining his surroundings. "They said they would bring me to where Vahn is," Meta muttered to himself. "So why isn't he here?"

FLASHBACK

The leader of the council turned to face Meta again before Meta stepped through the portal leading to the world of Legaia. "Remember young Meta, that it is a great honor to enter their world in your true form, as it takes up much energy on our part." The council member turned and started to walk away, "Bear it well" was the last thing Meta heard before going through the portal.

END FLASHBACK

Meta didn't know that Vahn had been here a few weeks ago, but by now all traces of blood or pieces of fabric were gone. The blood was naturally washed away by rain, and the cloth was used by the birds to build their nests. Nature had erased all sign of his presence. Meta examined the area thoroughly, but in the end he didn't find anything. "Why would the Elders bring me here?" Meta said aloud. He didn't mean to say it aloud, but in his world there was no difference between thought and speech. This was another one of the reasons why the elders almost never let Ra-seru go through the portal in their true form. Many were disgusted with humans after Kort had created the mist, and their thoughts would have betrayed them or maybe even get them killed. Though it would take a lot to kill a Ra-Seru.

Giving up on searching the Immediate area, Meta sat down at the base of the tree and thought about why he would have been led here instead of directly to Vahn. "Possibly a mistake on the Elders' part, but I seriously doubt it. The council tends to frown on mistakes. What could it be then? Did they send me here purposefully?" Meta had no idea where he was and only guesses of where Vahn could have gone. "I suppose I will have to pursue one of those guesses," Meta said to himself. "After Vahn escaped he could have either gone to Drake Castle or Rim Elm, but since he knew that Noa was hurt he probably would have gone to see her before heading home."

Meta had been watching over Vahn, with the help of the council, who had more power than him. One can only ask for so many favors, and once he was sure Vahn had escaped he had told the Elders that they could stop lending him their power, but after a few days Meta had grown curious as to where Vahn was and what he was doing, so he tried to look in on this world with his own power. He could only catch glimpses of Vahn, and emotions and feelings. These glimpses made Meta come to the conclusion that Vahn needed help.

Meta stood up again, looking at the sun, trying to remember which direction Drake was in. "I think it's west if you are coming from Biron, but I'm not sure where I am now, so I could be past it already. Or anywhere at all. It would be mere chance if I reached it." The squirrel had been climbing down the tree slowly, trying not to attract the attention of the person in front of it, but its curiosity overcame its instinctive fear. Who was this person who looked so familiar? The squirrel scampered closer and froze when Meta turned around to stare at it. The squirrel recognized Meta's face as Vahn's, but the scent was different. Meta shrugged and got up. He ran his fingers through his hair once before walking to where he thought Drake Castle was located.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

For the past ten hours Kort had walked next to Noa. They first went to hunter's spring to see if there were any traces left of the fight. Kort knew it was a lost cause, trying to find Vahn, but he didn't tell Noa. He hadn't talked to Noa since she had found out. Of course he had answered direct questions, but other than that he didn't say anything. Just kept his head down and kept walking. He wouldn't have know what to say anyways. "_Noa I'm sorry I sold someone you love to people who might kill him."_ Even in his mind it didn't sound right.

They arrived at hunters spring and finally Noa had sat down on a stone slab to rest. Kort sat down next to the spring itself and swirled his hand around in the water. This water had always amazed Kort. It was much fresher feeling and much more cool than normal water felt. Kort also felt that it had moods. He had been here three times: once on the way to rim elm, once with Vahn, and now. Each time it felk like a different color. Green, dark red, and now black. "_Maybe it has conciousness," _Kort mused.

He took his hand out of the water and chanced a glance at Noa, who was now looking at him with her head propped up by one hand and her elbow resting on her knees. She observed him for awhile until something else caught her attention. There was a rustling in the bushes and someone whispered excitedly, "Hunter's Spring. I remember this!" She stood up and faced herself towards the sudden interruption. The voice continued, "Drake is...north from here. It must be, since I know for a fact that Rim elm is to the south, and farther to the west is a mountain range."

Just as the person was coming into view, Noa started to say, " Do you need some-" but she stopped when she looked at his face. According to her he was Vahn. He looked so much like him that she couldn't have thought he was anyone else. She rushed to him and embraced him. "Vahn what are you doing here?" she started to say, " How did you get here. I thought that Kort.." Here Noa cut off and just buried her face into his shoulder.

Kort's reaction though was somewhat different. A mix between relief and fear. Vahn looked slightly different but it was unmistakably him. The clothes were even similar. He had wanted to run, but he decided that it would be best to wait and see how Vahn reacted to him.

Meta was now staring in disbelief at the girl who was currently smothering him. "Noa?" he asked. She looked up into his eyes and said, "Of course I'm Noa, Vahn. I was so worried about you!" Meta shook his head. "Noa, I'm afraid you misunderstand. I'm Meta." Noa put on a confused look, "What are you talking about?" she said. "Well," Meta started, "I came to this world to look for Vahn. I had gotten the impression that he was in trouble. I look like him because I had been attached to him for so long." Meta explained.

Noa let go of him and took a step back, she cocked her head to the side and looked at him. "Meta." she said once as if testing the word. She didn't believe him and Meta could tell. "Ummm." Meta said, " Could Vahn do this?" He raised his right hand in the air and made a fist. Then he opened it again and in his palm was a ball of fire, burning so brightly that Noa had to look away. After a few seconds Meta dropped the fire to the ground and it extinguished itself in the moist, almost flooded, grass around the spring.

Noa was staring at him now with her mouth hanging open. She closed it and looked up into Meta's green eyes. "I suppose you are Meta." she stated to herself. Meta nodded and smiled. It was so "Noa" the way she was acting. Innocent and funny. Meta's smile quickly dissapeared as he remebered the situation at hand. "You're looking for Vahn too?" He inquired. Noa nodded, and then remembered Kort. She turned around to find him staring at the both of them.

Meta immediately recongized him as the younger version of Court, but Terra had already told him about that, so it was no surprise to see him her with his sister. What did surprise him was that he looked thirteen or fourteen. "He shouldn't have grown that fast," Meta stated. "He betrayed Vahn," Noa quickly interjected to get it over with. She knew she would have to say it sooner or later. "In what way?" Meta asked while examining him. Noa mumbled something inaudible and Meta turned around and asked her to repeat it again. "He sold Vahn to some people who might have a grudge against him." Noa said.

Anger flared in Meta's eyes, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions, so he asked, "And what did he get in return." Noa sat back down on the stone slab and said, almost as if surrendering

," Medicine for me. I was poisoned." Meta turned back to Kort and crouched down to his eye level. He stared into Kort's eyes for a few seconds before saying, "You shouldn't have done that."

Kort nodded gravely and quickly lowered his head. The sight of this legendary Ra-Seru frightened him. "Do you know where he went?" Meta asked. He was looking at Kort, but Noa knew that he was addressing her too. "No." She said after a few seconds. Kort shook his head with his eyes to the ground. Meta stood up and thought for a few seconds. "We should find tracks in the dry riverbed," he said aloud. Noa had never thought of that, though it was not surprising since she had lived in a cave for most of her life. "Let's go," Meta said.


	14. Vengeance

Vahn dug his hands into the ground as the whip struck him again, and again, and again. He was being punished for trying to escape. "_Devils,"_ Vahn thought to himself, "_ If only-" _Vahn's thought was cut short when the whip struck him again. Now blood was starting to drip down his back. The slave who had exposed him was grinning wickedly. He had caught Vahn and Trisha hiding in one of the carts of wheat that was to be sent to Jerimie. Now Trisha's words came back to him _"There's no way it would work. It is too obvious a flaw in the security..." _"I should have listened." Vahn whispered to himself. Then the whip struck him so hard that he collapsed on the ground, whereas before he had been kneeling in place. "If you move at all the girl will die!" they had said, and Vahn didn't dare disobey. He couldn't live with that kind of blood on his hands. He got back up on his knees and spat some blood on the ground. He clenched his fists tight, expecting another blow.

"You may get up," his torturer said. Vahn rose shakily to his feet and turned towards him. His anger melted completely when he saw that the man was almost crying and looking at the whip in disgust. 'The woman' as everyone called her, turned towards the group of slaves she had forced to witness the punishment. " If ANY of you so much as talk about escaping I can, and will make your lives a living hell." She noted that there were some who were mortally afraid and some who looked angry, as it was at every one of these demonstrations. "Get back to your work please," she said. She walked towards the person who had been striking Vahn and said, "Very good, we won't steal again will we?" in a sickeningly sweet voice. He shook his head with passion and quickly hurried away.

The woman turned on Vahn and was about to say something when a loud scream was heard. 'The woman' turned in the direction of it and her eyes narrowed when she saw a red haired man holding Jabin, who had just punished Vahn, by the neck. His hair looked so bright it almost seemed to be burning, and his bright green eyes glinted in anger. Meta was slowly squeezing his hand tighter around Jabin's neck. "How dare you inflict suffering on Vahn! Is this how you repay the one who banished the mist!" Jabin obviously couldn't answer, and clawed at the hand around his neck. "Slime of the world," Meta continued to say, " May you be cursed to receive what you have given, and may you be condemned to scorn and suffering." A bright green light formed around Jabin's head before Meta dropped him to the ground.

'The woman' was sneering at this person in front of her. "_ How dare he do this!"_ She thought. She reached for the knife she always carried on her belt, but stopped when she felt a hand enclosed on 'her' throat. "Move and I break your neck." Vahn growled at her. She froze and didn't say a word as Meta walked toward them both. The rest of the slaves were staring in awe at this god-like person with red hair. Meta stopped in front of 'The woman' and looked into her eyes. She flinched slightly because for some reason it hurt her to stare into his. Vahn let go of her and stepped back leaving her to Meta, and leaned against a cool wall which was a comfort to his aching back. Meta examined her for a few seconds before putting both hands on her neck and twisting. There was a "crack" and she fell to the floor, never again to enslave anyone.

Meta walked over to Vahn, who was staring at him as if wanting confirmation that he actually existed. Vahn got it when Meta suddenly embraced him. Vahn yelped in pain, but Meta didn't let go, and he was glad. "I've missed you Meta." Vahn mumbled.

Kort had been watching from a distance and had seen all that had happened. Noa had knocked out all of the guards and Meta went straight for Vahn. Kort couldn't help but be afraid when he realized that Meta could have just as well broken his neck after betraying Vahn.

"Shall we go?" Meta said, and he helped Vahn walk down the steps and started towards the exit. Vahn had a fleeting thought about Trisha, but he reasoned that, " 'That woman' is no longer alive. All of the slaves are free now." But that was a bit or reasoning too distracted by happiness and relief to be reason. Vahn would later find out how wrong he was.

All of the slaves had backed off when Meta started walking towards the door and there was now a clear path that he could walk through with no trouble except for pushing corn stalks out of the way. They reached the door and Vahn looked up to see Noa and Kort standing there. Noa's smile could have cheered up Songi when she saw Vahn was alive and relatively well. She collided with Vahn and just barely prevented herself from knocking him to the ground. No words escaped her, just tears of joy when she hugged him. Meta calmed her down and said " We should celebrate when we are away from this place." Noa nodded vigorously, still lost for words, and guided Vahn ,as gently as her enthusiasm would allow, towards the door.

After a minute or two of walking on the road Kort spat out, "I'm sorry." Vahn made Noa make a sharp stop and turned to look at Kort. "For what?" he asked. "Do you have to make me say it! I'm sorry I betrayed you and sold you! It was to get an antidote to save Noa!" Kort said with tears in his eyes. "You...sold...me? To them?" Vahn looked at Meta and Noa for verification. Meta nodded silently and Noa did something between a nod and a frown. Vahn grabbed Kort by the shirt and lifted him up slightly, so he could look into his eyes. "Well," Vahn said, less than an inch from Kort's face, "That wasn't very nice." Vahn dropped Kort and stood up straight again. He looked at Noa and then Meta before saying, "I think we should," grimace of pain, "-get a few miles from here," wince," before we rest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: I am trying my best to update this fic as much as possible, but I'm running out of motivation, and I'm not happy at all how this chapter turned out. It's too short and it has the word "as" way too many times. Please review and point out things you didn't like or things you liked. Especially point out character inconsistency.


	15. Silent Night

Meta gently lowered Vahn to the ground. After walking for over an hour Vahn's undernourished overworked body simply collapsed. Vahn lay against the tree, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "Meta," Vahn whispered, "Could you heal me like you used to?"

Meta sighed and ran his fingers through his human hair. "I'm sorry Vahn. I've come back from-" Meta seemed to be looking for the correct word, " The place we Ra-Seru come from. I've lost all Seru powers I'd acquired. I have the basic element of fire, but that display has exhausted most of my-" Meta tried to find the proper phrase, gave up and said, "Magical power."

Kort was standing at a distance from the rest of them. He was eyeying Meta, not quite sure what to make of him, but, being a young boy, he was bursting with curiousity. Kort took a small step forward and asked, " What do you call the place you come from?"

Meta looked at Kort as if he suddenly realized the boy existed. " I would not waste the explanation on you," Meta said softly and slowly. Kort wasn't sure if Meta was even angry. Meta was wearing a smile and he said it as if trying to explain something gently to a stupid child.

Kort kicked the ground and walked away. He wiped the tears from his eyes and sat down at a distance from Noa, Vahn, and Meta.

Noa glared at her brother. Well, at least she tried to glare. It turned out more like a half-hearted frown. She quickly turned her small span of concentration onto Vahn and hugged him suddenly. "Ow!" Vahn shouted, and he would have jumped if his body was in any condition.

"I'm so happy to see you!" Noa shouted with glee, "I missed you, but I had to leave to take care of Kort, and I went to see the Genesis Trees to pray that I'd take good care of him, and I went to see Terra's grave." There was a moment of silence in the long and excited speech before she continued, " Terra the wolf I mean. I tried to come back to see you, but then the war started and I couldn't fly from Sol and everything was terrible, and there was some mist left over in a lake, and Kort fell in, and it was horrible, but I saw Gala a few days ago, and then he had to leave, and I found Meta by the spring, and we followed him, and now I'm here. How have you been?"

Vahn opened his mouth, startled that anyone on the face of the earth could make such a long speech without breathing. "Umm, well," Vahn started to say, " I've been...fine."

Everyone stared for a few minutes until Meta broke the silence, "This reminds me of the night on the edge of West Voz. I remember when Noa made a stupid comment and everyone was embarrased. I wondered what the food they were eating tasted like?"

Noa tilted her head sideways and said, " That really doesn't have anything to do with anything."

"Yes," Meta agreed.

"Then, why did you say it?"

"Because it was what I was thinking at the time."

"Oh."

"I'm hungry," Meta continued. Meta turned his head towards Vahn and added, "Vahn needs medical attention. I wish I could heal him, but I can't. I need to find-Ah! I could just use my shirt." Meta continued his rhetoric narrative and tore strips from his shirt. He gently wrapped up Vahn's back and neck. Vahn gasped in pain and tried to keep from shouting. "I'm sorry, Vahn, I don't know much about Human first aid. It must hurt alot. I'm sorry you had to go through all that. I wonder what pain feels like to humans."

"Ow!" Vahn yelled when Meta removed a piece of hanging flesh.

"I apologize!"

"Would you just shutup!" Vahn gasped.

"I have not learned yet how to distinguish the different processes of the brain such as speaking and thinking."

Meta ripped off another piece of hanging flesh, revealing bone. Tears of pain came to Vahn's eyes and he shivered. "I apologize, Vahn, but it will get infected if I do not." Vahn didn't answer. Meta finished patching up Vahn an hour later. Vahn was almost out on account of blood loss.

"We have to find shelter," Meta said, picking Vahn up in his arms. Vahn didn't have enough strength to protest with his voice, but in his head he was cursing everything from Kort to talkative Ra-Seru picking him up. "Drake is too far from here for Vahn to even think of getting to. We'll have to find somewhere else."

"I think I saw a cave a cave only a little bit from here!" Noa said excitedly. She quickly turned around and led the way, walking in long strides with a leap added here and there for good measure. Meta followed with Vahn in his arms, and Kort trodded after them, not wanting to say anything or attract attention. He was guilty and embarassed. _"It was such a stupid, stupid thing to do. I could have just killed all three of those men! I could have tried!" _Kort doubted he would have succeeded.

"Should have checked sooner. Of course the elders wouldn't have approved. I am still only a child, but they would risk much for the savior of mankind. I should have tried. It would have been...better. I should have tried more for Vahn. It was stupid."

Meta continued like this for a while until Vahn asked weakly, "What are you muttering about?"

"I am not muttering. I am thinking."

"What are you thinking about?"

" I had the chance to come and see you earlier. I ignored it."

"Meta," Vahn said slowly, "I. Don't. Care. You're all here now, so it doesn't matter."

"If I were you I would not forgive myself so readily."

"Then, It's a good thing you're not me. You definitely look like me though."

" Yes, this is your body. The elders gave me different color eyes and hair on my request."

Vahn didn't comment. Exhaustion and blood loss had invited sleep over for a party.

A/N: Wow...this is pretty bad. I did update, though! I will try to continue to do so, no matter how idiotic it sounds! Any critique is good. 


End file.
